@@brexitgreens people get on and off constantly so you don’t know if it will be less crowded. Business class has very limited seats and they are always fully booked. First class also gets fully booked very quickly. Try book 15 days ahead. China high speed train are fine in terms of space even in 2nd class. The train stations are usually very crowded.
LOL they will only give you a standing ticket if you miss your previous train. Standing ticket means all seats are fully booked, but it doesn't mean all seats are taken from the station you get on the train. Here is the cool thing, when you board the train, you can check around and take any unoccupied seat for a stop or two until the seat owner shows up on the following stations. Or, if it is a long ride, there usually a dedicated dining car, you can buy some food and stay there. The easiest way to tell if the seat is taken or not is by looking at the indicators on the panel above the seats. If the indicator is green (not occupied for the next two stations) or yellow (not occupied till the next station), you can take it. If it is red, it means this seat is taken from this station onward.
Wow, I didn't know they had indicators! Thanks for sharing. I was sitting next to the dining car but they had no tables there... And because the train was so full of wandering "standing" passengers I gave up quickly... Btw, one who was late on the train can still get a normal sit if the tickets are available, there were siting options for me later but I couldn't wait until the evening....
@@AlexTchaikovsky Or, next time if you were not sure, you could talk to the attendants on the train to see if there is any empty seat. Some times there are untaken reserved seats as soon as the train leaves a station, because someone might miss the train as you did. 😄
From Guangzhou East to Shenzhen, everyone buying the earliest train but they allow you to get on whatever train earliest you can get on. Seat or not it's a matter of luck. Maybe one of the few routes in China you can still do that 😂😂😂
@@dontaskmewhy100 that’s wild haha! I lived in Guangzhou before and if I had to go to HK I never chose going through Shenzhen but went by Tianhe-Kowloon direct train instead 😎
Excellent video. China manages the travels of 1.4 billion people about as well as anyone can hope for - but it's seldom a relaxing experience if you're not used to it.
I traveled for 7 years straight Looking back I was so lucky I never missed a flight or train or chartered bus.... Except 1 time when I missed a connecting flight because my flight was delayed
@@DW-op7ly that's a great result! This is my second time to miss the train in China🤣 The first time was because of an alarm malfunction. And this time my stomach let me down...
You should have bought ticket departure from South Station where has most trains to Xichang! Trust me... don't make your trip from Eastern Station again😂 I'm from Xichang and I'm living in Tianfu New Area so I know so well!
Thank you, Ashley! Actually, I live in Gaoxin and prefer South Station too... But this time I went to Xichang with the filming crew and they handled tickets without asking me. And as the video shows I still came back to the South Station 🤣🤣🤣
@@AlexTchaikovsky Haha, yes! And that's why your experience made me laugh a lot.😄 But anyway you finally made it. I expect to watch your vlog of Xichang soon!
Our public transportation is quite punctual, so make sure to plan enough time 😂😂
thanks for sharing
China trains are very efficient, very popular and very crowded. Always book tickets ahead and give yourself extra time to get to the station.
thanks for sharing
Is there a way to ensure extra space for yourself? Like choosing less crowded hours or buying a first-class seat?
@@brexitgreens people get on and off constantly so you don’t know if it will be less crowded. Business class has very limited seats and they are always fully booked. First class also gets fully booked very quickly. Try book 15 days ahead. China high speed train are fine in terms of space even in 2nd class. The train stations are usually very crowded.
@@brexitgreens Yes, there are first and sometimes business class available.
LOL they will only give you a standing ticket if you miss your previous train. Standing ticket means all seats are fully booked, but it doesn't mean all seats are taken from the station you get on the train. Here is the cool thing, when you board the train, you can check around and take any unoccupied seat for a stop or two until the seat owner shows up on the following stations. Or, if it is a long ride, there usually a dedicated dining car, you can buy some food and stay there. The easiest way to tell if the seat is taken or not is by looking at the indicators on the panel above the seats. If the indicator is green (not occupied for the next two stations) or yellow (not occupied till the next station), you can take it. If it is red, it means this seat is taken from this station onward.
Wow, I didn't know they had indicators! Thanks for sharing. I was sitting next to the dining car but they had no tables there... And because the train was so full of wandering "standing" passengers I gave up quickly... Btw, one who was late on the train can still get a normal sit if the tickets are available, there were siting options for me later but I couldn't wait until the evening....
@@AlexTchaikovsky Or, next time if you were not sure, you could talk to the attendants on the train to see if there is any empty seat. Some times there are untaken reserved seats as soon as the train leaves a station, because someone might miss the train as you did. 😄
@@ericliume another good tip here😀
From Guangzhou East to Shenzhen, everyone buying the earliest train but they allow you to get on whatever train earliest you can get on. Seat or not it's a matter of luck.
Maybe one of the few routes in China you can still do that 😂😂😂
@@dontaskmewhy100 that’s wild haha! I lived in Guangzhou before and if I had to go to HK I never chose going through Shenzhen but went by Tianhe-Kowloon direct train instead 😎
Xichang is great, I'm sure you'll have a good time there once you finally catch your train.
@@thecolonelpridereview food and dance😎
Excellent video. China manages the travels of 1.4 billion people about as well as anyone can hope for - but it's seldom a relaxing experience if you're not used to it.
Thank you! And there's really nothing to complain about, once I start to think about number of people🤣
always take metro to get to the station!!
Nooooo🤪 (haoba😢)
Tchaikovsky, the great musician. Hee hee hee hee 😁😁😁😁
He was indeed🤓
Thanks for letting me learn from your mistake, I'll be in Chengdu in September and might go to Xi'an
I'm glad it is helpful! Enjoy your trip😎
For travel, whether by train, ship or plane, I always say: "it's better to arrive early and wait for 1 hour than to be late for 1 minute."
it is 100% true
I traveled for 7 years straight
Looking back I was so lucky I never missed a flight or train or chartered bus....
Except 1 time when I missed a connecting flight because my flight was delayed
@@DW-op7ly that's a great result! This is my second time to miss the train in China🤣 The first time was because of an alarm malfunction. And this time my stomach let me down...
@@AlexTchaikovsky ouch
Treat all China's transport schedule as were airport departure plane time table in your country !
If it was a German train, you would most likely have made it……🤣🤣🤣
Really? I thought that must be in France😅
You should have bought ticket departure from South Station where has most trains to Xichang! Trust me... don't make your trip from Eastern Station again😂
I'm from Xichang and I'm living in Tianfu New Area so I know so well!
Thank you, Ashley! Actually, I live in Gaoxin and prefer South Station too... But this time I went to Xichang with the filming crew and they handled tickets without asking me. And as the video shows I still came back to the South Station 🤣🤣🤣
@@AlexTchaikovsky Haha, yes! And that's why your experience made me laugh a lot.😄
But anyway you finally made it. I expect to watch your vlog of Xichang soon!
哈哈 怎么跟我一样 错过了上列火车 蹲在过道
hhh 那天人太多， 而且在餐车没有位置坐所以没办法😅
柴可夫斯基，你的名字我小时候就听过
@@hjyu2769 🤓🤓🤓
swan Lake
错过了可以改签
谢谢
Я аж сама перенервничала.... как будто я опаздала)))) Фу... это не я)))
😂
lucky it is a train not a business flight or your air ticket will be just a crap
Good point! Though I'm way more careful with planes for some reason😅